“This province is facing a water crisis situation. It is necessary to increase restrictions and implement mandatory restrictions. We are talking about a very serious situation here,” she told a press conference. She said water rationing would be implemented in certain areas across the province water and users exceeding their allowed usage could be fined.

“It is not because of the mayors or the councillors. It is because we have no rain.” Areas of the eThekwini and Ilembe District Municipality supplied from the Hazelmere Dam, various South Coast locations and northern KwaZulu-Natal have critically low dam levels.

In Ilembe, two sugars mills have not opened as the drought impacts on the sugar industry.